Adjustment table



Nov.- l2, 1929. A. E. GREGORY ADJUSTMENT TABLE Filed lJuly 29, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 12, 1929.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 29, 1924 Nov. 12, 1929. l A, E, GREGORY 1,735,569

ADJUSTMENT TABLE Filed July 29, 1924 5 sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Nov. l2, 1929 ALVA EMERY GREGORY, OF OKLAHOMA CITY,v OKlid-LflllOlVIA i ADJUSTMENT TABLE Application nieu July 29,

5 tary means for facilitating the adjustment of the opposite end portions of the table in oppo` site directions, either vtoward or away from each other, so that the table may be properly proportioned in order to facilitate the manipulation of the body of the patient.

Another purpose is to provide an adjustment table embodying improvements on the construction of similar apparatus disclosed in Letters Patent No. 1,280,987, issued October 8, 1918, to Alva E. Gregory. f

Still another purpose is to provide improved means for supporting the patient without unnecessary pain or discomfort, provision being made to 4accommodate large abdomens, especially at the time of treating the body, especially the limbs thereof. In the patent above mentioned, certain of the sections of the adjustment table are capable of adjustment to different positions by hand but lin the present invention it is the aim to avoid such an impractical method. v

As in the former patent, the present construction of adjustment table is used for treating the patient in such manner as to overcome the settling of the spine of the patient and the consequent thinning of the intervertebral disks which comes on with age, and to overcome any contraction of the spinal musculature from direct spinal injury or re- 5 flex contraction due to peripheral injuries or irritations.

1t is to be understood herein given are in no way limitative and that, 'while still `keeping within the scope of the invention, any desired modifications of detail and desiredproportions may be made in the apparatus according to the circumstances. y

`The invention comprises further features .and combinations of parts to behereinafter set forth, shown in the drawings and claimed.

In the drawings;

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the improved adjustment table constructed ac cordance with the invention.

invention has for its purpose to that the particulars 1924. serial No. 728,944.v

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the same, showing the forward sectionof the table tilted and the intermediate section partially depressed to accommodate the body of the patient when lying face down.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view on line 8 3 of Figure 2, clearly sliowingthe unitary means for adjusting the remote sections of the table in opposite directions toward and from each other.

VFigure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of an extension bracket for the forward end of the forward table section showing an adjust-4 able device to which the head gear may be attached. Y Y

Figure 5 is ka perspective view of the rear portion of the forward table section and the c y intermediate Atable section, showing` `how thev latter is supported on the former. j

Figure 6 is' a perspective view .of they bracket 17 with its casting extension for sup-7 porting the worm.

Figure 7 is a sectional View on line of l Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, it will be noted that the adjustment table includes a practically skeleton base frame in -lieu of the crude base which is disclosed in the former patent,

above mentioned. This frame 1 comprises the longitudinal guide tubes 2, the transverse t-ubular bars 3, and the legs 4, all of which are united at the corners of the base frame by means of the legged unions 5.v The legs 4 are footed, as shown at 6. Mounted in perpendicular positions on the guide rails or tubes 2 are forward brackets or supports 7. These brackets or supports are in the form of channel members and their lower terminal parts are formed around 'the 'guide rails or tubes2. The brackets or supports 7 aresimi lar in shape and construction,` and connecting the lower terminal loops of the brackets is a'bar 8. j

rlhe Vpatient supporting 'table proper 9 comprises the forward, rear and intermediate table sectionslO, 11 and 12, the former be'- ing pivotally mounted at 13,0n the .upper terminal portions of the brackets 7. Extend# ing transversely of one end of the forward table section isa rod or shaft 14, and pivoted thereon are supporting'links l5. The lower ends of the links have slots 15t through which a rod 15b passes, This rod 15b is journaled in suitable bearings of the lower portions of the brackets 7 as shown clearly in Figures 2 and 8. Surrounding-the rod 15b andlocated'between the links orarms is a sleeve or tube 15". rod l5b between the brackets 7 and the links or arms are relatively `short sleeves or collars 15d. The rod 151 is headed at one end with the head engaging with the outer sui-face of one of the brackets 7 and thesleeve or collar 15d opposite the head of the rod engages through the other bracket 7', A suitable hand wheel 16a is'threaded upon they rod 15b so as to bear againstone end of the adjoining sleeve or collar15d.

lVhen the sleeves 15c and 15d are loose, the arms or links lhave sliding movements relativeto the rod v15b for the purpose of adjusting the forward table section. For instance, the rear end of the forward table section may be raised or lowered so as to accommodate n inders and interposed between them and the unusual sizes of abdomens. Should the rear end of the forward table section be raised and the abdomen of the patient be large, it would bear upon the intermediate table sect-ion and cause it to lower. With the patients body in the position shown in Figure 2, the

rear end of the forward table section beingplates 18" and 18C which are supported upon Velongated bolts or rods 13d which depend Y from the angular frainerof the forward table section. In fact, the bolts or rods ldpass Vdownvmrdly through the frame of the for-A ward table section. The extension arm 13 of the intermediate table section frame 12 engages between the bolts or rods 13d'. The bolts or rods 18d pass through closed ends of cylinders lilil and have pistons or disks leb adjustable on their lower ends. These pistons or disks 14D are located in the cylclosed ends of the. cylinders are expansible coil springs lll which are in surrounding relation to the bolts or rods 13d for the purpose of forcing the closed ends of the Cyl-` inders upward and retaining the extension arm 13a in alignment with .the iearfend of the forward table section. Coilsprings 14 are interposed between the frame ofthe for- Also mounted on the `of the table section 11.

also mounted on the guide rail in a mannerV tween the bearings 20a.

ward table section and the upper plate 13b to hold the latter tensioned against the extension arm'13".v rllhe extension arin13u engages uiider the rod 14E.v

`When the intermediate table section depi'esses and the rear end of the forward table sect-ion tilts upward, the coil springs 14@ are compressed and lput under tension. 'As soon as pressure upon the intermediate table section isA relieved, it automatically resumes its normal position.

Also mounted upon the guide-rails 2 are brackets or supports 16 and 17, the former being similar in construction to the brackets 7 with the exceptionthat its upper end is enlarged and is iiXed to the under portion Thebraket 16 identical with the mounting of the-brackets 7.y However, the bracket 17 is in vthe form of' acasting, the upper portion of which has a downwardlyl and laterally projecting eX- tension lfL which merges into an auxiliary extension 171. "l ie extension 17L has abase plate 17 to which, as at 19, a suitable electric motor 20 is fastened.

The shaft of the motor 2O ismounted in bearings 2O?L of the auxiliary extension 17h and carries a worm 2,2 which is located be- The lower end of the bracket 17, which supports the table section 11, isadjustably mounted upon one of the guide rails 2 similar to the mounting of the brackets 7, and secured to the lower' parts of the brackets 16 and 17 is aframe. 100

comprising the bars 24 and 25,'the former being secured to the lower parts of the brack- Vets 16 and 17 while the latter connects the p projecting ends of the former.

Pivotally connecting the bars 8v and 25 is 105' a plurality of lazy tong links or bars 26 and rising from certain of the pivotal ends of the lazy tong links or bars and swiveled at 27 to said pivot-al ends are upstanding bearingsY 28 which have right and left threads and 110 through which a screw iod'29 engages. The f screw rod 29 is mounted in suitable bearings p 30 which rise from the opposite longitudinal guide rails 2. In fact, the bearings 30' are boltedto theV rails, so that the screw rod 29 115 may be supported revolubly in positionabove the lazy tong bars or links.

. One end of the screw rod 29 has a hand wheely 81 by which the rod'inay be rotated .and where vthe rod passes through vthe bear- `ings or hangers 28, it is provided with right and leftthreads. 1 Obviously, by imparting movement to the hand wheel in one direction or the other, the screw rod correspondingly operates and due to the right and left threadr ed connections with the bearings 28, the bearings may move toward and from each other for spreading and contracting thelazy tong links `or bars. rllie act or" the lazy tong links or bars contracting and expanding -results in the brackets 7 and 16 and 17 and the front and rear table sections being moved toward and from/each other in order that the patient may be comfortably accommodated on the table while being subjected to chiropractic or osteopathic treatment.

The table sections 10, 11 and 12 may be constructed in a manner similar to those disclosed in the former patent, and carried by the underportion of the table section 11 are supporting guides 37 for receiving a cast metal eXtensible frame 38which, when disposed in the desired position, may be held in such position by means of the set bolt or screw 39. However, when the set bolt 39 is loosened, ,the eXtensible frame 38 may be adjusted longitudinally in its support-ing guides. Fulcrumly carried at 40 by the rear terminal portion of the frame 38 is an oscillatory lever 41 to the upper terminal of which a casting 42 is connected. This casting consists of a cylinder 32 through the closed end of which a rod 43a engages, there being a coil spring 43b interposed between the closed end of the cylinder and a piston or disk 43c (which is adjustable) for the purpose of tensioning the rod 43a. TheveXposed end of the rod 43a is turned upward and pivotally` supports a transverse bar 44a. The ends of this bar have spaced collars or enlargements 44b between which the rings of a. foot harness 45 may engage.

With the patient disposed as in Figure 2, the head gear being connected to the head of the patient and the foot harness attached to the ankles of the patient, a pulling or stretching action may be imparted to the body of the patient, whereby the patient may be further treated by chiropractic or osteopathic manipulations. When imparting the pulling or stretching action of the body of the patient, the action is gradual which is also true upon relieving the body of the patient of such pulling or stretching action. Y

The lower terminal portion of the lever 41 has a link 46 pivotally connected thereto, said link being, in turn, threaded, as at 46a, to a rod or pitman 46b which, in turn, is pivotally connected at 47 to a worm wheel 48. It will be' noted that the worm wheel has a plurality of attaching bearings 48a, in any one of which the piv-ot pin 47 of the rod 46b may be Secured. In this manner the rod 4Gb may be adjusted or pivoted in different locations relative to the worm wheel 'for the purpose of increasing or decreasing the movement of the lever 41. To permit ofy this adjustment, the link 46 may be adjusted relative to the rod. The worm wheel 48 is operatively supported on a portion of the auxiliary extension 17b of the bracket 17 and is so positioned as to mesh with the worm 22.

Obviously, when starting whose shaft imparts revoluble movement to the worm wheel, the wheel will pull upon the motor 20 Y the rod46b-and therebytilt thejlever 41 as maybe desired forcreating a pull on the foot harness 45 and, in turn,-upon they pa-v v tient Yatregular intervals in opposition to the resistance of the pulling lmeans at the head and shoulders of ,the'patient. has the effect of alternately stretching and relaxing the body gradually, andthe amount of stretch may be increased by`gradually adj usting theframe 38 in its supporting guides. An eXtensible bracket 49 is provided and its arm 50 engages in a guide 51, there being This action A l a set-screw 52 for holding the extensible* bracket in different adjusted positions. Mounted in a bearing at the upper end of the vupstanding portion of the bracket 49'is.

a rod 53'to one end of which a bar 54 is pivotally supported, asiat 55. The ends of the bar 54 have spaced collars 56V between i which the rings ofV a head gear or harness 57 engage. threaded t-o the rod 53 and bears against one end of the bearing'at the upper end Vof the upstanding part of the bracket. By rotating the hand wheel in one direction or the other,

4the rod 53 may be adjusted through the bearf A suitable hand wheel: 58 is ing. either for increasing or decreasingthey l pulling action upon the head gear or harness. Pivotally supported, as at 59, to lateral ears of the extensible' bracket are arms 60 which diverge for a yshort distance and are L then bent and assumesubstantially parallel relations and merge'into outwardly andupwardly extending portions 61 and 62. The upwardly extending portions 62 are bent inu wardly toward the body of the patient at pointsabove the cushion of the forward table section 'and have 'knobs' at their upper ends. These upwardly extending parts l62 engage under the arm pits of the patient and assist in the pulling action upon the body of the patient. Y c

Any suitable head and foot gear or harness may be employed, for instance, such as that set forth in Patent No. 1,280,987, previously hereinmentioned. y y j In case it should be necessary to adjust or work on the cervical lesions manually and without traction, the head piece or extensible bracket may be removed from its guides, together with the arm pit pieces.

The invention having been set forth, what is claimed is:

1. In a device, as set forth, the combina control of the table in its movements upon the standards, and being slotted, a rod pass- .y

through the slots and the standards,

ing

means upon the rodto hold the slotted bracktrolling the depression and elevation of the named body table, an adjustment screw carried bythe adjustable bracket at the forward i etsinposition ofadjustments, a second bodyjtable resiliently and movably mounted with v respect to and to the first named body table, l means offconnection of the slotted brackets -to the'second ynamedvbody table, a pairrof housings beneath the rst named body table,A

resilient means within thehousing for consecondnamed body table, with respect tothe first namedbody table, hand grips upon the 'firstnamed bodyvtable Vand located in fixed position thereto, an adjustable bracket movably mounted to the forward end of the first end of the adjustment screw, a head and chiny harness carried by the Vmovably `mounted j lever, means to move the tables aforesaid Y longitudinally, and a third table to and from .which the aforesaid tables are laterally Inovable, and upon which a portion -ofthe body issustained. f

2.; Like l, adding: a movably mounted foot pulling-bracket securedto the third named body supporting table, means for connecting the same to connect the feet of the patient, a; worm lwheel for the bracket, means to connect the worm wheel to the pulling bracket adjustably for relatively different strokes of the body pulling operation, a worm shaft for the worm wheel, anda motor for the worm shaft.

3. Like l, adding: said means for moving the body supporting tables consisting of lazy-A v tongs, and means for extending and con- Y tracting saidlazy tongs.

ture. Y v ALVA EMERY GREGORY, M. D;

In testimony whereof he afiiXes his signai 

